Tens of thousands of people were under evacuation orders in California on Tuesday as the state was ravaged by the latest in a barrage of storms that have left at least 17 people dead.
Torrential downpours caused flash flooding, closed key highways, toppled trees and swept away drivers and passengers – including a five-year-old-boy who remains missing in central California – with even more rain and snow set to batter America’s most populous state.
Around 110,000 California homes and businesses were without power Tuesday, according to tracking site Poweroutage.us.
A fresh storm is set to pound the state with as much as seven inches (18 centimeters) of new rain in northern California by Wednesday and several more feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the National Weather Service said.
The NWS described an “endless onslaught of atmospheric river events” that is the most powerful storm system since 2005.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said at least 34,000 people had been told to flee the storm, with more danger expected.
